


No Nets to Catch Me

by Mauve_Avenger



Series: Out of Yesterday's Ashes [5]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adventure, Friendship, light Zutara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:49:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22270576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mauve_Avenger/pseuds/Mauve_Avenger
Summary: With his father held captive in the Fire Nation, Sokka comes up with a daring- and stupid- plan for a rescue. Zuko comes along for the ride.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Out of Yesterday's Ashes [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1363831
Comments: 14
Kudos: 214





	No Nets to Catch Me

Aang tried his best to keep his focus on Zuko’s instruction, but it was so difficult with an audience. It was late enough into their training that the rest of their group was beginning to wake. Usually, the others would skirt around the courtyard and get ready for breakfast, but today Zuko was finally showing Aang a more complicated form and it was enough to catch the attention of Toph and the Freedom Fighters. And _her_.

Aang let out a wistful sigh and allowed himself a brief glance towards where Katara was watching them intently from the fountain. Had Aang not already been flushed with exertion from the work out Zuko was putting him through, he knew he would be bright red under Katara’s gaze. 

“Pay attention!” Aang flinched and patiently submitted to Zuko fixing his posture. 

“Sorry, Sifu Hotman,” he said sheepishly. 

“Don’t be sorry,” Zuko grumbled as he lifted Aang’s arm to the right position, “be aware. And _stop calling me that!_ ” Katara snickered at his irritable outburst. Aang shot a grin in her direction and made a face. Katara motioned for him to focus on his lesson. Then she got up and went to fix breakfast. Aang tracked her movements as she went, making sure to keep his form right. 

“ _Aang!_ ” Zuko snapped. “ _Focus!”_

“Aren’t we done yet?” Aang complained. “We’ve been at this for _hours_!” Zuko turned to Aang and crossed his arms firmly. 

“You don’t have much time to master firebending,” Zuko reminded him. “We’re working on an accelerated schedule. And even if we _weren’t,_ we’ve _only_ been training for an hour.” Aang groaned and glanced over towards the campfire longingly. 

“But...I’m hungry!” he whined slightly. “And the last time we were late for breakfast, all the non meat options were gone.” Still Zuko was firm. 

“Katara only _just_ started cooking,” he said. “We’ll break in an hour for food.”

“And then _I_ get you,” Aang turned and found Toph grinning at him wickedly. Aang fought back a groan. He hadn’t trained with Katara since he and Zuko had gotten back nearly a week earlier. He had hoped he could talk her into a training session later that day. But Toph had claimed the rest of the morning, and Zuko would have him again in the afternoon. Katara would be making dinner when training was finally done, and even if Katara were willing to train after dinner, Aang knew he would be too exhausted. He thought about asking Toph if they could put off earthbending training until the next day, but she had a look on her face that promised swift retribution for such a stupid question. So Aang, with a sigh, agreed to the plan. As if he had a choice.

An hour later, Zuko called an end to training as he promised, when Katara announced breakfast was ready. Aang scampered over to the campfire, jumping ahead of Smellerbee with an eager smile on his face.

"Did you wash your hands?" Katara asked him, holding the bowl away from him. Aang's face flushed sheepishly.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm just so hungry for your delicious food." 

"There's plenty. Go wash your hands first." Katara reached around him and handed the bowl to Smellerbee, who glared at him as she claimed her meal. Aang ran off down the hall, nearly running into Zuko.

"Hey! Slow down!" he called after Aang. “You’re going to hurt someone!” 

"Sorry!" Aang called over his shoulder as he skidded into the washroom. When he got back, everyone had settled around the fire with their breakfast. Aang hurried over to accept his meal and find a seat. There was a spot open next to Katara, and Aang zeroed in on it with a barely suppressed grin. 

“Yo, Zuko!” Sokka plopped down in the space between Katara and Zuko. Aang stopped abruptly, crestfallen as his seat was taken.

“I was going to…” Aang started to say. But Sokka had already started a conversation with Zuko and wasn’t paying any attention to Aang at the moment. Katara was chatting with Haru and didn’t seem to notice Aang’s disappointment.

“I really do think it would be a good idea for you to train with Toph,” Katara was telling him. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you tagging along.”

“Forget it, Sugar Queen,” Toph laughed. “The Human Caterpillar is too scared.” Haru’s face flushed a deep red. 

“ _What_ ?” he sputtered. “Human _what?_ ” Katara frowned over at Toph. 

“How did you know about his mustache?” she asked. 

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?” Haru rounded on Katara indignantly. 

“You have something right there,” Katara brushed a finger over the side of her mouth. Haru turned away and wiped his mustache with his sleeve. 

“I heard Sokka talking about it,” Toph explained. “I wish I could see it. It sounds hilarious!” Katara ducked her head towards her bowl to hide her smile. When she looked up, Haru had cleaned most of the congee from his mustache and was glaring at the cook fire.

“You should go with Toph and Aang,” Katara said when she had schooled her face again. “It would be good for Aang to see a different earthbending perspective.”  
  


“He is _not_ teaching _my_ pupil his sloppy technique,” Toph snorted. “But, sure. If the Human Caterpillar wants to tag along, he can. If he bugs me, I’ll just bury him.”

“I could get myself out,” Haru grumbled. “I _am_ an earthbender to.” Toph reached out and patted Haru’s arm.

“Sure,” she said. “Keep telling yourself that.” Toph turned to Aang, who was still standing by the seat he had claimed, and frowned. “What are you doing, Twinkle Toes?”

“I was just-” 

“Forget it!” Toph cut him off. “Find a seat and eat up. We’re leaving in twenty. Caterpillar, you’re coming with us.” 

“What? But-but-” Haru stuttered. Toph, heedless set her empty bowl on the ground beside her and walked away from the group, stretching her arms over her head. 

“If you don’t come, you’re a wuss,” Toph called back to him. Haru shot Katara an accusing look, but she just shrugged it off. 

“You’ve got to practice, too,” she reminded him. Haru just huffed, and finished his breakfast quickly. When he was done, he tacked his bowl in Toph's and ran off to his room to change. 

“Between Toph and Zuko, I think all this training might kill me,” Aang said, sliding into Haru’s vacated seat. 

“You can handle it,” Katara told him encouragingly with a tight smile. She looked at the bowls Haru and Toph had left behind and sighed. How many times had she asked everyone to at least put their dishes in the wash basin?

“Yeah,” Aang continued, stirring his congee distractedly. “But it’s been so long since I’ve practiced waterbending, I’m afraid I’ll get rusty.” Katara turned her eyes towards him, her lips pulling down into a frown. 

“You might be right,” she said, surprising Aang. “You do need to make sure you continue your waterbending training.”

“There’s plenty of places around here to practice without anyone to get in the way!’ Aang told her with alacrity, his mind filling with images of him and Katara alone at one of the small ponds around the temple. Just the two of them at sunset. _No!_ In the moonlight. Katara liked the moon.

“I’ll talk to Toph and Zuko.” Aang snapped back to what Katara was saying. “We should be combining your training sessions at least once a week.”

“Combining?” Aang repeated. “But-but...Well, what I meant was that _we_ should be training together, too. I-”

“Aang, your waterbending basics are fine,” she cut in impatiently. “But you need to work on your improvising. You’re too stiff, and I don’t think one on one training is going to help you with that.” Aang started to protest, but Katara was already leaning over Sokka to get Zuko’s attention. 

“Hey!” Sokka complained. Katara ignored him and told Zuko her idea for combined training. To Aang’s dismay, he seemed to think it was a good idea, too. Toph, Aang knew, would be all too enthusiastic about the plot. 

She and Katara had already combined his earth and waterbending training a couple of times before, and it had been terrible. Training alone with Katara was always fun. She was patient with him and sometimes when his footing was wrong, she would stand behind him and put her arms around him to correct him. He tended to need a _lot_ of correcting. The combined training sessions had been different thought. Toph had been as critical and demanding as ever and hadn’t gone easy on Aang. The worst part, though, was that she had brought that out in Katara, too. The last time the three of them had sparred together, Katara had been much harsher with her corrections. Not nearly at Toph’s level, but she would scold him for messing up on stances she had so patiently corrected him on when they were training alone. He was not looking forward to training with all three of his masters, but when Katara happened to glance back at him, all Aang saw in her face was flinty resolve. There would be no talking his way out of it.

“We’ll have to talk with Toph, but I’m willing to do it tomorrow morning instead of firebending training,” Zuko offered. Katara shook her head. 

“ _Ahem!”_ Sokka cleared his throat and looked at his sister pointedly. “We were having a conversation!” 

“Let’s ask Toph if we can do it tomorrow afternoon instead of earthbending training,” she suggested, ignoring Sokka. “Aang needs the most work with firebending. I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.”

  
“Still sitting right here!” Sokka said, waving his hands. 

“In a minute, Sokka!’ Katara huffed. To Zuko she said, “Aang said there are places we can practice without everyone getting in the way.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Zuko agreed. Aang had been listening to the conversation, and noticed with some annoyance that no one had asked his opinion on the matter. But Katara was straightening up, and glaring at Sokka. 

“Less than two minutes,” she said. “You can go back to your gossiping or whatever you were doing.” Sokka cast her a scathing look. 

“ _For your information_ , we just happened to be talking about-” Sokka shut his mouth abruptly. Katara blinked in surprise, then narrowed her eyes in suspicion. 

“What _were_ you two-”

“Never mind!’ Sokka snapped. “It’s manly stuff. It’s none of _your_ business.” Toph and Haru came back out into the courtyard just then. 

“Get the lead out, Aang!” Toph called. Sokka stood up, and with a stern glance at Zuko- presumably a warning to keep his mouth shut- announced that he was going to train with his space sword. 

“It’s your turn to clean the dishes!” Katara called after him. Sokka continued trotting away as if he hadn’t heard her. Katara glared after him, wondering if it would be worth the fight to drag him back. 

“I can do them,” Zuko offered. Katara sighed in annoyance. Zuko was the only one of the large group consistently helping- the only one _offering_ to help- but it was starting to feel unfair to him. Katara started to tell him that she would do it, but Zuko had already started to gather the bowls. Katara passed him one of the Freedom Fighter’s empty cups. 

“What were you and Sokka talking about?” she asked. She reached down to rescue a spoon wedged between a sitting log and the ground. Zuko froze with his hand outstretched and Katara looked up at him sharply. Her piercing stare promised soggy retribution if he lied. 

“Well...I-er-” Zuko stammered. Katara crossed her arms and arched her brow at Zuko. With a defeated huff, he told her, “He wanted to know about Boiling Rock.” 

“What?” Katara frowned and her eyes knit together in confusion. “Why?”  
  


“He...he wanted to know what your father and the others are going through,” he explained. Katara’s arms dropped to her sides, her eyes widened. 

“You...you know?” Katara asked. Zuko nodded. 

“I think he didn’t want to upset you.” 

“He...” Katara shook her head slightly. She had been avoiding thinking about her father too much, the way she avoided poking at a wound.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Zuko assured her. “It’s fine if you don’t want details.” She nodded numbly. When she didn’t say anything else, Zuko took the spoon from her hand and went to the washbasin. 

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Katara had been trying not to think about where her father and friends were, or what might be happening to them. It was always a thought at the back of her mind of course, but she managed between training, planning and keeping their small camp running to keep the thoughts from overwhelming her. Finding out that Sokka had been talking with Zuko about the prison had thrown her off. She finished the rest of the day in a distracted haze. Aang’s attempts at small talk were met with single word answers when she answered at all. Toph belched loudly beside her during dinner- something that would ordinarily have led to an argument about manners- but Katara hardly reacted at all. Sokka had been unusually quiet all day, avoiding direct questions, and making frequent trips into the woods outside of the temple. He was up to something, and ordinarily, Katara would have demanded to know what, but in trying to keep her fears and grief from completely pulling her under, she had missed the obvious hints. Zuko, though, was watching a bit closer. 

The moon had past its peak and had made considerable progress towards the horizon when Sokka made his move. Sneaking past Toph’s room was the hardest part, with her sensitivity to vibrations in the ground. Sokka slid his feet across the stone floor outside of her room, stopping only once, just briefly when he heard a hitch in her snoring. Once he cleared the hallway where the dorms were, Sokka quickly made his way into the woods where he had stashed a small rucksack filled with a map, a compass, and most importantly, food near the airship he and Zuko had stolen from the palace. He remembered Zuko’s instructions enough to feel confident in his ability to fly it on his own. He just needed to find his spark rocks to light the boiler. 

“I wondered why you wanted to keep this thing.” Sokka only barely managed to stifle a yelp as Zuko materialized from the shadows. Sokka clutched his bag to his chest and glared at the other boy.

“Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?” he hissed. “What are you doing out here, anyway. Isn’t it past your bedtime?” Zuko was unmoved by Sokka’s near death. He came around to the side of the ship and leaned against the rail, arms folded and and his brow raised. He was clearly waiting for an explanation, which Sokka considered not giving him. 

“You can tell me what you’re doing, or I can get Katara,” Zuko threatened. Sokka scowled at him. 

“First of all, that would make you a snitch,” he said. “And you know what snitches get. Second, what makes you think I’m afraid of Katara?” Zuko shrugged and started back towards camp. 

“Well in that case,” he said. “I’ll just go get her and you can tell _her_ what you’re up to.” Sokka caught his arm as he passed. 

“Alright, alright,” he relented. “I’m going after Dad and the others.” Zuko gaped at him in horror. 

“By yourself? Are you insane? Were you even going to tell anyone where you’d gone?” 

Sokka dropped his gaze and shifted on his feet. He responded with a guilty shrug and grumbled,

“I left a note.” Zuko let out a huff and pinched the bridge of his nose. Sokka wasn’t certain, but he seemed to be counting. 

“So what’s the plan, Sokka?” Zuko asked with more than a touch of sarcasm. “You were just going to fly in, land the airship and tell everyone to hop on?” 

“Well, anything sounds stupid if you say it like that,” Sokka grumbled. He crossed his arms and turned his scowl towards the ground. 

“Sokka, Boiling Rock is the most secure prison in the country. The guards are all ex-military and highly trained. They would blast this ship out of the sky before you could do anything!” 

Sokka pressed his fists into his eyes and let out a groan of frustration. He couldn’t deny the logic in Zuko’s arguments. The dethroned prince of the Fire Nation _would_ know better than Sokka what he would be facing. 

“What am I supposed to do then?” Sokka demanded. “Just sit around and wait for them to kill my dad? What would you do if it were your uncle?” 

Zuko flinched just slightly, but it was enough to let Sokka know his point had been made. Zuko ran his hands over his face. He had been actively trying not to think about his uncle, both out of worry and anger. He was sure Iroh was safe, but the idea of him locked up and at the mercy of Zuko’s father… Well, he found he could empathize with Sokka.

“I’m coming with you,” he said at last. Sokka’s jaw dropped. 

“But...but you...don’t you have to-” Sokka started to protest. Zuko held up a hand and shook his head. 

“You can’t go alone,” he told Sokka. His tone didn’t invite debate. “Either I come with you, or I wake everyone up to stop you. I’ve been to Boiling Rock. I know how to get us in.”

“Why do you want to go so badly?” Sokka asked. Zuko froze for a moment. 

“Your dad is…” Zuko hesitated, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. “He was kind to me. He took me and my uncle in when it probably would have been smarter to leave us.” Smiling weakly, Zuko added, “Besides, your sister would kill me if I let anything happen to you.”

Sokka pulled back a bit and looked at Zuko strangely. Zuko tried not to fidget under his suddenly piercing gaze. Between Sokka, Katara and Hakoda, Zuko was beginning to wonder if that uncomfortably intense stare was a family trait. 

“Well,” Sokka sighed after a moment. “Get your things, we don’t want anyone _else_ to catch us leaving.” 

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Boiling Rock was about two hundred miles southeast of the air temple. Having Zuko with him turned out to be more helpful than Sokka realized. He hadn’t remembered how much tending the boiler needed. Had he been alone, Sokka would have had to navigate the featureless expanse of ocean _and_ made sure that the heat from the boiler stayed at just the right temperature not to fly so low the ship would be seen, but not so high that the thin air would have made him pass out. It was also nice to have someone to talk to. Even with company, the trip got monotonous. 

“That cloud kind of looks like an igloo,” Sokka said, pointing to a cloud off to their right. Zuko squinted at it and shook his head. 

“No, that definitely looks like a wooly moose-lion.” 

Eventually, their conversation turned to topics that Sokka at least found more interesting. 

“So you’ve never had a girlfriend?” he asked Zuko incredulously. “ _Ever?_ ”

“Not a whole lot of time for girls,” Zuko grunted as he adjusted the flame on the boiler. “I had one date with a girl in Ba Sing Se, but it didn’t go anywhere. The only girl I’ve spent any real time with was your sister until I met Toph.” Sokka cast him a sidelong glance. 

“Yeah…” Sokka said. “About that. _How_ exactly did that happen?” Zuko turned to him with his brow furrowed in confusion. 

“Huh?”

“I mean how is it that you two became friends?” Sokka sat nonchalantly in a corner, tearing pieces of jerky apart and popping them into his mouth. “She said she ran into you in Ba Sing Se and that you and your uncle were cool now. But the way I figure, if you ran into each other in Ba Sing Se, there was no reason for her to trust you then. So what happened?” 

“Um…” Zuko looked around for some escape or distraction. There was none to be found. “Didn’t you ask Katara?’ Sokka stood up and went to look Zuko in the eye. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the deposed prince. 

“Tell me the truth,” Sokka said. “Is there something going on between you and my sister?” Zuko felt heat rushing to his face, and he was sure he was blushing from his hairline to his neck. 

“It’s not like that!” he insisted. He quickly squashed the memory of Katara’s hand in his and of the way she had flushed when he kissed her cheek. Zuko swallowed. “Look, she...she saved my life once. And she helped me out with a problem in the Lower Ring.”

“The Lower Ring?” Sokka’s nose scrunched up as if he were working on a particularly difficult puzzle. “Wait! Hold on! The _orphans_ ? You _knew_ about the Painted Lady thing?”

“She told you?” Zuko felt a rush of relief. “Yeah, I’ve known for a while.”

“A _while_?” Sokka repeated. “How did you find out?” 

“We ran into each other in Yesan,” Zuko said. Sokka let out a strangled screech. 

“Hold on!” He held his hands up in a T shape. “Time out! What do you mean Yesan? You’ve known since _then_ who she was?”

“Well, no,” Zuko said. “I thought she was really a spirit in Yesan. I didn’t find out who she was until Hahoe. She saved my life when I got hit by an arrow.” Sokka’s face had gone several shades of red. For a moment, Zuko was worried the young warrior would pass out. 

“ _Arrow_ ?” he managed to force out. “Where did an _arrow_ come from?”

“From the...from the soldiers occupying the town.” Zuko frowned in confusion. “I thought you knew.” 

“Not about the arrows!’ Sokka squawked. He stalked to the back end of the air ship and stared out into the expanse behind them, as if he could somehow teleport back to where his sister was and chew her out for her recklessness. 

“She was fine, though,” Zuko reminded him. Sokka spun around and fixed Zuko with a glare that would have been intimidating if the rest of his face wasn’t puffed up like an angry fugu fish. 

  
“That’s not the point!” Sokka shouted. “I _told_ Katara that playing vigilante was a bad idea! It was bad enough in that village where she wrecked the factory and we had to scare off a bunch of soldiers. At least then she had us with her. _Now,_ I find out that she almost got herself killed and didn’t even tell us?” Zuko winced. 

“I understand that you’re upset,” he told Sokka. “But Katara is okay. _I_ got hit with the arrow, and she saved my life. That’s when we figured out who each other was.” Sokka snorted and huffed and sat down in a corner of the ship, scrunched up tightly into himself. That was the end of the conversation for a while. 

“You know, my first girlfriend turned into the moon,” Sokka said a couple of hours later, unprompted. Zuko looked over from where he was stoking the boiler’s flame. 

“Um...that’s rough buddy?” he offered lamely. Sokka shook his head sadly and unfurled himself from the corner he had been sulking in. 

“I miss her,” he said. “But I’d like to think she’s watching out for us. I’d like to think that night she was keeping an eye on Katara.”  
  


“That’s a nice thought,” Zuko nodded. He wasn’t sure if he believed that, but had Iroh been there, he would have said something about the odds of he and Katara happening upon each other twice in the middle of performing similar missions. Had either of them shown up in that village alone, it was possible that they would have been injured or died. It was fortunate for both of them that they ended up there together. Even Zuko had to admit it had the tinge of fate to it. But he wasn’t sure if Sokka’s ex-girlfriend was the one looking out for them. Still…

“Anything’s possible, I guess.” Sokka grunted in agreement. He lifted his spyglass to his eye and scanned the horizon. He perked up after a sweep and focused on one area. 

  
“Hey, I see something!” He waved Zuko over excitedly and shoved the spyglass into his hands. Zuko raised it to his eye and nodded grimly. 

“Boiling Rock,” he said.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Things went wrong almost immediately. As Zuko had warned Sokka, the rescue would be much more complicated than landing the airship and having all the prisoners hop aboard. The airship didn’t even make it past the outer walls of the prison, in fact. The steam from the volcanic island’s hot springs made the air outside of the ship’s balloon hotter than the air inside of it, and caused the airship to come crashing down. How none of the guards noticed was a mystery to Zuko, but he chose not to dwell on it as he and Sokka pushed their only means of transport into one of the springs. Sokka assured him that they would come up with something later. Zuko thought back to all the times that his uncle had scolded him for acting without thinking, and realized how right Iroh had been. 

It was disturbingly easy how the two boys were able to steal prison guard uniforms and blend in with the rest of the guards, but it was a welcomed development. Sokka introduced them as new recruits and asked a couple of the friendlier looking guards about the prison, the schedules and where the most dangerous prisoners were held. That was when Sokka and Zuko found out that the Water Tribe warriors weren’t being held at the prison after all. Sokka visibly deflated, but Zuko managed to get him away from the prison guard he had been chatting with before he noticed something wrong with Sokka’s reaction. Then Zuko tried to cheer Sokka up in his own unique, confusing way. It seemed to work, too. Sokka perked up after Zuko’s speech, ending with a botched saying of his uncle’s. But then Sokka pointed to a young woman in the middle of the exercise yard and clutched at Zuko’s arm excitedly. It was his girlfriend, Suki.

Finding Suki was the next thing that went wrong. Or rather, it was Sokka’s inability to temper his excitement at finding her that caused the problem. Had he not insisted on sneaking into Suki’s cell and letting her know what was going on, what happened next could have been avoided. That’s what Zuko would later claim, although Sokka would counter that if he were better at speaking to people and wasn’t so quick to jump to physical confrontation, Zuko wouldn’t have been found out and imprisoned. Whoever was right, the result was that Zuko’s cover was blown, and word had been sent to his father that he was now the newest addition to Boiling Rock. Zuko told Sokka and Suki that they needed to leave, as soon as possible. Chit Sang, another inmate poked his head into their corner, and with a smile that promised trouble if they didn’t include him, told them that he agreed. Zuko was wary of the escape plot getting too big, but as Chit Sang pointed out, their options were to either include him, or he would escape on his own while the prison guards were busy dealing with the three of them. Eventually, Chit Sang was welcomed into the plot. 

They quickly hatched a plan that involved Zuko being sent to the cooler- a solitary confinement designed specifically to keep firebenders from firebending. With Zuko’s newfound control of his inner flame, the cell had barely any effect on him, and he was able to carry out the first part of their plan to steal the cell and use it as a boat to cross the boiling water. That mission accomplished, the next hiccup in the plan occurred. Just as they were about to make their escape, a new arrival of prisoners was announced for the next day. Sokka, it turned out, was capable of just as much optimism and hope as his sister in the right circumstances, and he decided to stay to see if his father would be among the new arrivals. He bade Zuko and Suki to go with Chit Sang and his friends to complete their escape, but neither would abandon him with no escape. Chit Sang and his friends had no particular reason to join in this show of solidarity and went ahead with the escape as planned. They were found out almost immediately and returned to the prison. Sokka’s hope and optimism were vindicated the next day when Hakoda stepped off the aerial tram. 

The final thing that went wrong was the worst thing that could possibly go wrong. As the group was working on a new escape plan, another arrival was announced. Crown Princess Azula had come to see her brother.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Sokka had just enough time to tell Zuko about the change of plan before two more guards came to his cell and brought him to the warden’s office. For a frightening moment, Zuko thought that word of the second escape plot had gotten to the warden already and he was about to be tortured for information. It was much, much worse. 

Azula sat behind the warden’s desk flanked on either side by Mai and Ty Lee. Zuko hadn’t seen either girl since his banishment, though neither seemed to have changed much. Despite the situation, Ty Lee smiled cheerfully as the guards dragged Zuko in, hands shackled behind his back. 

“Zuko!” she greeted him. “It’s so good to see you! Your aura is particularly bright. I’m glad to see prison hasn’t disagreed with you.” Zuko just blinked at her, baffled at her perkiness. 

“Ty Lee,” Azula snapped. Ty Lee’s spine stiffened and Zuko saw her flinch for a moment before her smile was back. 

“Sorry Azula,” Ty Lee said in a slightly more subdued tone. Azula shot her a cutting glance and dismissed the guards who had brought Zuko in. Azula gestured to Zuko. 

“Have a seat, big brother,” she offered. “Mai, uncuff him.” There was a sharpness to Azula’s voice that belied the normally saccharine affectation she adopted with her friends. She was different, Zuko thought, more brittle. She caught his observing gaze and narrowed her eyes. Zuko looked away quickly.

“How the mighty have fallen,” Azula said. Zuko rubbed his chafed wrists and tried to scoot his chair back slightly so he could keep all three girls in his sight. He was stopped when Mai placed a hand behind his chair and quirked an eyebrow at him. 

“He hasn’t gotten any better at being sneaky,” she commented. Azula sniffed haughtily at that. 

“What I wonder is what would lead the disgraced crown prince of the Fire Nation to break _into_ an inescapable prison.” Azula stood up and paced the room. Zuko turned his head to follow her movements. Mai stopped him again when he tried to stand up, and Azula came up behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders. There was a threatening heat to her hands. Not enough to burn his skin, but just enough that Zuko could smell his rough spun shirt singing. 

“It seems to me that no one _would_ come to this place unless there was a reason,” Mai said conversationally. “Not even the guards who are assigned here actually _choose_ it, or so my uncle tells me.” 

“Maybe he was coming to visit someone?” Ty Lee suggested. She shifted on her feet nervously, eyeing the thin curls of smoke coming off of Zuko’s shirt. Azula released Zuko’s shoulders. He could hear the snide smile in his sister’s voice when she said,

“There’s a brain in that head of yours after all, Ty Lee.” She crossed in front of Zuko and leaned against the desk. She scowled at Zuko, and kicked his shin. He flinched slightly, trying hard not to let on how much it had hurt. 

“What do you want, Azula?” he demanded, addressing his sister for the first time. “Are you here to take me back to Father?” Azula threw herself forward, snarling in Zuko’s face. Her hands clamped down on Zuko’s arms, her nails digging into his flesh. 

“You _have_ no father,” she hissed at him. “He’s disowned you! You _lose_ , Zuko!” She leaned back and smirked triumphantly, and Zuko knew she wanted to hurt him with that. She wanted him to beg for another chance or plead for her to let him go. Instead Zuko shrugged. 

“Well, that’s a relief,” he said. “Here I was worried he sent you to try to reason with me again.” Azula reeled back as if Zuko had slapped her. And then she actually slapped him. Zuko was more surprised than hurt by it. Azula rarely let her temper get the better of her like that. 

“Why did you come here?” she yelled. 

“I heard good things about the food,” Zuko said with a flippant shrug. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ty Lee startle at his reply. Beneath her perfect summer tan, she went pale with fright. Even the perpetually emotionless Mai managed to look surprised. Azula, though, was furious. 

“You must have come here for someone,” Azula muttered. “And if you won’t tell me who, I’ll just have to start eliminating prisoners until I find out for myself.” Zuko tried to jump out of his seat, but Mai and Ty Lee held him down. 

“You can’t do that!” Zuko protested. “They’re prisoners, but they still have rights!” Azula let out a bark of laughter. 

“I am the heir to the throne of the Fire Empire!” Azula declared. “The Fire Lord, _I_ am the most powerful person in the nation! These criminals have only the rights I _choose_ to give them.” Azula leveled her gaze at Zuko with a vicious smile. “You _could_ save them, though. All you have to do is tell me who you came here for.” Zuko gritted his teeth and wracked his brain for a way out. He didn’t even know if Sokka and the others knew where he was, or if they would be able to wait for him if he didn’t show up at the rendezvous spot on time. He had to get out of that office. If nothing else, Zuko thought he could make a distraction so the others could get away. 

“Forgive me your highness.” Everyone turned to the soldier who had just entered the office. He was bowing so low, he was almost doubled over.

“What do you want?” Azula snapped. The soldier hazarded a glance up and bowed again.

“The warden wanted to tell me that one of the prisoners identified a guard who was involved in last night’s escape attempt,” the soldier explained. “The warden believes that the guard may be involved in Prince Zuko’s plan.” Zuko could feel the blood draining from his face, and he knew from the smile on Azula’s face, she saw it. 

“Why don’t I go have a chat with this guard?” Azula said. “Mai, Ty Lee. Keep an eye on Zuko. Make sure he doesn’t do anything…stupid.” She slammed the door shut behind her. Zuko turned to Mai and Ty Lee, sizing them up. Mai produced a lethal looking blade from one of her sleeves and began casually cleaning her nails with it. 

“Whatever you’re planning,” she said, “I’d reconsider.” Ty Lee stared at Zuko oddly. 

“Why did you do it?” she asked Zuko. 

“Do what?” Zuko folded his arms sullenly and glared at the floor. 

“Betray your country.” Ty Lee leaned over and tried to catch his eye. “You’re willing to turn your back on your people? For what?” Zuko’s head snapped up and he met Ty Lee’s gaze with a fiery glare of his own. 

“I have done what I’ve done to _help_ my people!” Zuko told her. “Too many people have died- too many of _our_ people have died in this war. A war my grandfather started for greed. I’ll do whatever it takes to see it set right.” Zuko huffed and a plume of fire erupted from his nose. Ty Lee jumped back with a surprised gasp. 

“All that passion and altruism is a good way to get yourself killed,” Mai observed. Zuko turned his glare on her. 

“I would rather die knowing I did the right thing than live under a tyrant’s boot.” That seemed to shut them both up. At least neither of them responded to Zuko’s declaration. Zuko went back to plotting his escape. His chance came a few moments later when an alarm started blaring. 

The sudden racket startled Mai and Ty Lee. Zuko took the opportunity to leap from his seat and rush to the door. A guard burst in, just avoiding being skewered on the stiletto blade Mai had thrown at Zuko. Then Zuko grabbed his arm and threw him into Mai and Ty Lee. The guard had left his key in the door, and Zuko turned it, then melted the lock, trapping his captors inside. 

He ran down the hall barrelling past confused prison guards, into the prison yard where a riot had broken out. Zuko only had seconds to take in the chaos below before he heard the trampling of army boots on the metal floors behind him.

“Zuko!” Sokka jumped up and down, waving his arms to catch his friend’s attention. Zuko threw himself over the balcony into the fray, and fought his way to Sokka and the others. 

“What kept ya, buddy?” Sokka asked. 

“My sister,” Zuko replied wryly. Sokka gasped. Hakkoda went ridgid behind him. 

“The Fire Lord’s daughter is here?” 

“In that case, we should make our escape sooner rather than later,” Suki suggested. 

“We have to get to the tram!” Sokka pointed to the tram that had brought the last arrivals- Azula and her friends, Zuko guessed. It was still on the ground. But Zuko remembered, there was no means of operating it from the inside. A precaution to keep the prisoners from gaining control of it. He told his friends the dilemma, and Suki cast her gaze up to the balcony with a feral smirk. The warden was there, watching the riot and barking orders at the guards. 

“I’ve got this,” she told her companions. Then they watched in awe as she leapt over the tumuluous crowd and scrambled up to the balcony. She took down three guards in succession before she landed on the platform and took the warden captive, using his own headband as a gag, and a flag to bind his arms. The whole thing took less than two minutes, and it distracted everyone from the prisonwide brawl. 

“Woo!” Sokka cheered. “That’s my girlfriend! Everyone! That’s _my_ girlfriend!” 

“We can celebrate later, son,” Hakkoda said steering Sokka through the crowd towards the tram. Suki met them there, holding a blade the warden’s neck. Her threat was clear. No one move, or the warden gets it. 

For a moment, Zuko thought they would get away free and clear. Perhaps, he told himself, all the things that had gone wrong up to that point had spent their allotment of bad luck for this mission. As usual, Zuko was wrong. They had made it halfway across the boiling hot springs when the warden managed to spit his gag out and shout at the top of his lungs,

“Stop! Throw the breaks!” Sokka slapped a hand across his mouth, but it was too late. The guards rushed to obey the warden’s order. The tram halted abruptly, throwing the escaping prisoners to the floor. The gears began whirring again with a metallic screech and the tram began its descent back to the prison yard. Zuko scrambled to his feet and rushed to the window. The guards had managed to get the rioting under control, and there were about a dozen waiting for the tram. Worse still, Azula and her friends had managed to get out of the warden’s office and were making their way down to the platform. 

“What else could go wrong?” Sokka groaned behind him. Zuko fought the urge to roll his eyes.  
  


“We have to stop the tram!” Suki said. 

“On it!” Sokka grabbed a baton from his uniform’s belt and smashed out the window. He scrambled up the ladder on the outside of the car on to the roof. Then he jammed the baton into the gears between and the cord. The car once again screeched to a halt. The warden, once more gagged and his bonds tightened, grunted and huffed in protest. 

“Now what?” Zuko asked. That question was answered a moment later when a second tram emerged from the docking station. The guards on the ground piled in and the tram made its way towards the one holding the prisoners. At the last moment, Azula leapt atop of the car, glaring through the window at her brother. 

“Son, now would be a good time for one of your clever plans,” Hakkoda warned Sokka. 

“I’m thinking! I’m thinking!” Sokka looked around for anything that might be useful, but he came up empty. Suddenly, the other car halted. The guards looked around in confusion. Azula’s wild eyes flew to the control booth for the trams. Ty Lee was there, randomly pressing buttons and throwing levers. There were two guards slumped on the ground outside of the booth.

“What is she doing?” Suki asked pressing her face to the glass. 

“I don’t know.” Zuko was as mystified as anyone. Including, it seemed. Azula. 

“Ty Lee!” she roared. “What do you think you’re doing?” One of the levers Ty Lee threw caused the gears on the tram carrying the escapees to let out a very upsetting whine. 

“ _What is she doing?_ ” Sokka yelled. Zuko’s brow furrowed. The way the car rocked was off. 

“I...I think she’s helping us,” he said. He went over to the broken window and began to climb out. 

  
“Where are you going?” Sokka demanded. Zuko glanced back as he caught hold of the ladder. 

“I think she reversed the tram. I’m going to unjam it.” Zuko climbed on to the roof and yanked on the baton. It was made of wood and beginning to crack under the strain of the gears, so it didn’t take as much effort as Zuko feared. As he suspected, once the baton had been unstuck, the tram resumed its trek across the boiling waters below. The occupants below let out a cheer. Behind them, Azula howled in rage. She looked as if she were going to leap after the escaping tram, but it was too far now. Instead, she took a bandana from her uniform and ziplined back to the platform. From his perch atop the tram Zuko saw Azula rush at Ty Lee, but the girl was ready for her. She chi blocked Azula and jumped onto the thick tram cable. Zuko held his breath when he realized what she was doing. She was going to run up the cable to them! 

“Woah!” he gasped. “ _What-?_ ” 

“Zuko!” Ty Lee yelled before she jumped for the car. Unthinking, Zuko reached out and caught Ty Lee’s hand, swinging her up onto the roof with him. Below, he could hear Sokka freaking out, but he wasn’t sure if was upset, or just impressed. On the ground, he could see the guards scrambling, but with the prospect of a successful breakout, the other prisoners had begun to riot again, yelling and cheering on the escapees. Azula, heedless of the tumult around her, had taken a blade to the steel cable. 

“I broke the control panel,” Ty Lee explained. “They can’t follow us.” Zuko stared at her, still uncertain of what was happening. But there were more important things to focus on just then. Azula had succeeded in cutting part way through the cable, but they were near the top of the track. 

“This is our stop,” Chit Sang called out. He kicked out the front window and leapt onto the ledge of the crater walls. The others poured out after him, Ty Lee and Zuko landing as the cable began to groan from the strain. 

“We took an airship in,” Ty Lee told them. “Come on, we can use it to get away.”

“Why is she helping us?” Sokka asked Zuko. The prince just shrugged. He was confused, but with the airship that he and Sokka had used to get there out of commission, there was no other option but to trust Ty Lee. For the moment. 

The airship was lightly guarded. Zuko figured that Azula had wanted to get to Boiling Rock as quickly as possible, and had chosen to bring just the barest few staff she would need. The guards and ship’s crew were dispatched quickly enough. Fortunately, the controls of the larger and more luxurious airship were essentially the same as the simpler ship Zuko and Sokka had arrived in. It took them just minutes to get airborne, and soon the prison was shrinking on the horizon. The escapees celebrated with triumphant cries and hugs and tears. The only ones not joining in were Zuko and Ty Lee. She was looking back at the island, chewing her bottom lip fearfully. He was watching her with a mix of confusion and suspicion. 

“Why did you do it?” Zuko asked. Ty Lee turned and looked at him. 

“I’m tired of living in fear,” she told him. “I figured if _you_ could stand up to Azula,then I could, too.” That was all the explanation Ty Lee would give. It would have to be enough for the moment. They could sort the rest out when they got back to the others. 

There was no immediate sign of activity when they landed at the Air Temple. For a heart stopping moment, Zuko thought that they had been attacked and needed to escape. Sokka rushed off the ship first and called out a greeting. Everyone was still there, but they had hidden at the sight of the unfamiliar Fire Nation airship. They rushed out when they saw Sokka and Zuko emerge. Katara ran out ahead, red faced with anger, her fists clenched at her sides, clearly ready for a fight no matter who came out. 

“ _Three days_ !” she started in immediately. “Three days you two have been gone! You left a note saying _gone fishing_ ? You didn’t say where, or when you’d be back. We had no idea if something happened to you. We have been worried _sick_ !”  
  


“I wasn’t that worried,” Toph quipped helpfully. The water fountain erupted in a column of water behind them. 

  
“ _Shut up,_ Toph!” Katara turned her wrath back on the two boys. “What were you _thinking_?” 

“We...we brought back a surprise,” Sokka said, trying very hard not to look like he was cowering behind Zuko. He called back to the ship. “You can come out now.” Katara’s face moved through confusion to surprise to shock as first Chit Sang and then Suki and finally Hakkoda emerged from the ship. 

“How…” she gasped. 

“We brought you the gift of friendship and fatherhood!” Sokka declared grandly. 

“Dad!” Katara pushed past Sokka and barrelled into her father’s arms. 

“Hey!” Sokka protested, but there was no heat in it. Then he threw an arm around Zuko and watched the reunion proudly. “We done good, buddy!” Zuko smiled faintly and nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah,” he said. “We did.” 

Ty Lee had hung back in the airship while the Hakoda and Suki and even Chit Sang were with excited shouts and celebrating. Finally, when the first wave of emotion had died down, Ty Lee poked her head out of the opening of the ship and cleared her throat. The response was as explosive- if not as warm- as the reaction the others had gotten. Katara raised a number of large, viciously sharp icicles aimed at the newcomer, positioning herself in front of Aang protectively. Toph stomped on the ground and bent the stone around Ty Lee’s feet before she had a chance to move. 

“Wait!” Sokka jumped in front of the two girls, pinwheeling his arms before they could skewer, crush, or defenestrate Ty Lee. “She’s cool! She’s cool!”

“ _What_?” Katara’s eyes snapped towards her brother, but the ice spears were still directed at Ty Lee.

“She helped us escape,” Hakoda confirmed. “We would have been recaptured or worse without her help.” Katara turned from her father, to her brother, to Zuko- who nodded in confirmation- to Ty Lee, who was staring at the icicles with wide, frightened eyes. Finally, with an uncertain glance towards Toph, Katara let the icicles melt back into the fountain. Toph released her feet, but both girls remained on guard.

“Explain,” Katara forced out through clenched teeth. 

Sokka and Zuko took over telling the story, with occasional interjections from Suki and Hakoda. Chit Sang lounged by the fire, contentedly eating the stew Katara had made. Ty Lee hung off to the side, with the Freedom Fighters shifting nervously on her feet. By the end of the harrowing tale, Aang welcomed Ty Lee enthusiastically. Toph accepted her presence, willing to trust her based on her friends. Katara was even more begrudging, warning that if Ty Lee moved to quickly at her, she wouldn’t hesitate to throw her off the cliff. 

“Katara!” Aang gasped in shock. 

“Oh, it’s okay,” Ty Lee said cheerfully. “Azula’s threatened me with worse.” That gave everyone a moment’s pause. 

“Why did you do it?” Katara asked her. “Why did you help them?” Ty Lee’s face flushed deeply and she shifted on her feet nervously. 

“I’ve been afraid of Azula my entire life,” she explained. “I...I was tired of being afraid” It was essentially the same thing she had told Zuko when he had asked her. 

“So...you just committed treason because you were tired of being scared of your friend?” Toph snorted skeptically. 

“Well...well,” Ty Lee stammered. “I... _did_. I did commit treason.” Zuko had the feeling that the weight of what she had done was only just falling on her. She blinked rapidly, as if she were waking from a deep sleep. 

“It…” she started hesitantly. “It’s like you said, Zuko. It isn’t right. I helped you...I left Azula for me. But there is something wrong- _very_ wrong- in the Fire Nation. I guess...I guess I just don’t want to be a part of it anymore.” 

For a long moment there was nothing. The only sound was the gurgling fountain behind them. Zuko glanced over and met Katara’s eyes. They exchanged uncertain glances for a moment before Katara turned to Toph. The younger girl nodded her head slowly. 

“She’s telling the truth,” she said. “For whatever that’s worth.” Katara shot Sokka a questioning glance. He shrugged almost imperceptibly. Then she took a deep breath. Somehow it seemed everyone agreed that Ty Lee’s fate would be her decision. 

“Fine,” Katara said at last. “You can stay. For now.” Ty Lee nearly collapsed in her relief, thanking Katara and the others with the exuberance they had all become accustomed to from her. She reached out to Toph, who was the closest to her, and tried to give her a hug. 

“Woah!” Toph said, dodging Ty Lee’s arms. “None of that! Or _I’ll_ toss you off the cliff myself. Sugar Queen is bad enough with that nonsense.” Ty Lee blinked in surprise, but the rebuff did nothing to temper her enthusiasm. Aang, welcomed her warmly, even submitting to a surprisingly strong armed hug. 

“This is great!” Aang exclaimed to Zuko. “You guys did an amazing thing!” Zuko turned to him with a stern frown.

“Have you been practicing your forms?” he asked Aang. The younger boy’s face fell and he sidled away with a nervous laugh.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Zuko had given up on trying to meditate long ago. After dinner, instead of winding down, as the Water Tribe warriors or the sailors on his old ship had usually done, the camp in the Air Temple had a habit of staying up for hours after the meal was finished. Zuko had hoped that after nearly a month with the group, he would have acclimated to the noise of so many people and been able to ignore it. No such luck. And the addition of the newly freed prisoners had only stirred up even more raucous after dinner activity than normal. 

In half a day, Hakoda had been adopted as a sort of surrogate father by the younger members of the team. The air in the stone courtyard echoed with shouts for his attention as Teo tried to show him a new gadget he was working on and Smellerbee demanded he watch the killer trick shot that Longshot had just perfected. Meanwhile, by the fireside, Chit Sang boisterously told wild, implausible stories of his time in prison, complete with sound effects. Sound effects which were nearly drowned out by the laughter of Toph and Sokka. Aang was in the fountain, practicing his waterbending and trying to show Katara his progress some new form she had shown him. In between chatting with Suki, Katara shouted encouragement and corrections at her student. Ty Lee flitted around from group to group trying to simultaneously get to know everyone at once. It was impossible for Zuko to even hear himself think. 

Normally, he wouldn't have minded much. For all his taciturnity, he found he actually enjoyed being surrounded by so much laughing and chatter. But since he had visited the Sun Warriors and the dragons, his inner fire seemed to need more tending than normal. He wasn't yet used to the strength of it, and he found himself needing to meditate twice a day to feel comfortable in his own skin. 

With a huff, Zuko got up from the place he has settled- a bit apart from the group, facing the west where the sun had long since set. He would have to find someplace deeper inside the Air temple to try to meditate. He really didn't like meditating inside, but it was better than nothing. His focus on his destination was singular, and he hoped he could slip away unnoticed. 

"Hey, Zuko, you got a minute?" Of _course_ he couldn't. Zuko bit back a sigh as he turned to face Katara.

"Can this wait?" he asked not unkindly. "I just wanted to meditate before bed."

"I know, I know," Katara said. "I promise this will be quick, though. Please?" Zuko didn't like the way his stomach turned at that last please. The sudden and certain knowledge that Katara could probably talk him into anything when she asked that way was…unsettling.

"Alright," he relented. Katara grinned and wrapped her hands around Zuko's elbow. Why was there heat rushing to his face?

"Come on, before they see we're leaving," she almost whispered as she guided him towards an unruly patch of green at the edge of the temple.

"What?" Zuko hissed. "Why are we leaving." Katara shot him an exasperated look over her shoulder.

"Would you just trust me?" Zuko fell silent and let her lead him into the dense forest, torn between intrigue and annoyance. The sounds from camp faded, and it was a weight lifting from Zuko's mind. 

"Where are we going?" He asked, though he didn't really care anymore. The night sounds of the forest soothed him immediately, and he realized how much he needed a break from noise.

"You'll see!" Katara sounded excited. Suddenly, she broke into a jog and then the trees opened up. They were at a small lake. 

The placid surface was so smooth that it reflected the starlight like glass. The sounds from the camp had faded so far into the background that it was almost lost beneath the chirping of crickets and frogs. 

"Do you like it?" Katara asked breaking the stillness.

“It’s beautiful,” Zuko replied. He turned to Katara still confused, but not unhappy that he followed her. “But, why…”  
  


“The others don’t come here,” she explained. “There’s another lake not far from the temple. It’s bigger and not as overgrown. Everyone uses that to swim and stuff, so this place is always quiet.”

“Oh?” Zuko was still confused. Katara gestured towards a small, flat stone overlooking the water. Most of the weeds had been cleared away. 

“You told me you liked to meditate by a pond when you were home,” she said. “I’m sure it’s not the same, but I thought you could come here. You know, if you need some peace and quiet. I like to come here sometimes to train away from everyone.” Zuko’s brows furrowed in surprise. 

“How did you know I-” 

  
“You’re not that hard to read,” Katara chuckled. “You’ve been looking more and more tense lately. And I get it. It’s a lot being around everyone _all the time_.” Zuko was overwhelmed.

“Thank you,” he breathed. Then he smiled. Katara’s eyes widened. She had never seen him smile before. It was contagious. 

“You’re welcome.” 

The night suddenly felt drawn close around them. Even the frogs and insects seemed to have quieted down. Zuko was acutely aware of how close he and Katara were standing. He could feel the warmth of her skin, and his heated in response. Unbidden, his thoughts turned back to Ba Sing Se and that morning walking her back to the Upper Ring. She had kissed his cheek, and he remembered how soft her lips had felt. He took a step closer to her, unconsciously. The memory was gravity pulling him towards her. Katara held his gaze for a long moment until her eyes drifted down slightly towards his mouth. Zuko’s breath hitched in his chest when he felt her hand graze his. Then her eyes met his again, warm and inviting and encouraging. If he closed the distance, she told him silently, she wouldn’t pull away. And so he leaned in. 

“Katara!” Sokka’s voice broke the air, and the pair sprang apart. An almost electric jolt went down Katara’s spine as her eyes snapped open. “Katara! Where are you? Chit Sang and Toph are about to arm wrestle. I’m taking bets. You gotta get in on this!” 

“Better get back before he decides to come looking for me,” Katara laughed nervously and took a step back. She tugged at the end of her hair and made her way slowly back towards the path. She paused at the edge of the clearing when she realize Zuko wasn’t behind her. “You coming?” 

“You go on,” he said. His voice was oddly tight. Even he could tell. “I’m going to...um...stay here and meditate.” Katara nodded and disappeared into the woods as Sokka called her name again. When he couldn’t see her anymore, Zuko let his face slip into a scowl. He had grown fond of Sokka over the last few weeks, but in that moment, he hated the young Water Tribe warrior more than he ever had when they were enemies.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I had hoped that this would be the last installment in this series, but I underestimated how long it would take me to get through Boiling Rock. Oh, well. I hope you'll forgive me for that, and for how little Ty Lee had to do here. Honestly, I didn't mean for her to be here. It was truly a last minute decision. Anyway, if you liked this please leave a review, maybe share with your friends if you feel like it.


End file.
